An Opportunity to Defund Obamacare

So far, the House GOP is not including Obamacare among the programs proposed for de-funding next week.

Why not?

Although the Appropriations Committee has produced a bill that de-funds many other programs, it does not undo the billions of dollars that the last Congress appropriated to implement Obamacare. That omission can be and should be corrected by amendment when the legislation reaches the House floor next week.

Rescinding the billions appropriated to Obamacare would help reach the GOP’s well-publicized pledge to cut spending by $100 billion in their first year as a majority.

Some have not recognized that last year’s Congress did appropriate money for Obamacare even though it failed to pass appropriations bills for the rest of the government. Billions were appropriated for Obamacare in the final legislation, as outlined in Congressional Research Service Report R41301.

That’s a dirty little secret about the new law. As further detailed in a Heritage Foundation report, rather than respecting the right of future Congresses to decide on funding, the sponsors of the bill included current and future appropriations for Obamacare—money that mostly has not yet been spent.

Despite the recent court ruling that the new health law is unconstitutional, the White House insists it is going full speed ahead to implement the law and spend that money.

The committee may improve these numbers on their own, or it could be done by amendments offered on the House floor. No matter how far short they are from that $100 billion goal, de-funding Obamacare would bring them billions closer.

What are some of the specific Obamacare reductions that could be made? Congress could rescind the $5 billion appropriated in Section 1101(g) to create high-risk pools, the $5 billion appropriated in Section 1102(e) for a reinsurance program, the $6 billion in Section 1322(g) to create insurance exchanges, plus the billions more in current and future funding that are outlined in the CRS report.

Other parts of Obamacare contain entitlement spending that is trickier to tackle, but the appropriations portions can and should be addressed right now.

The new House majority has a chance to keep two promises at once: reducing spending by $100 billion (for starters) and repealing (or at least de-funding) Obamacare.

Nothing should hold them back.

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That's interesting. Well how do you feel about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., vowing "one way or the other" that the upcoming continuing resolution to fund the government through fiscal 2011 will deny funding to Obamacare. Two types of funding for the law could be denied: direction appropriations and discretionary spending not specified in the legislation. (read in the OC Register)

The Most Recent Events In The Healthcare Industry Invalidate The Entire Healthcare Reform Movement Regardless Of The Political Sponsorship, Regardless Of The Philosophical Underpinnings, And Regardless Of The Ethical And Democratic Imperatives.

The mammoth healthcare establishment has started to collapse based on a mathematical law, history, and the latest data from the gold-standard National Health Expenditures Survey (latest data is 2009). It's an easily demonstrated, scientific fact.

The major components of the industry are the mammoth US Hospital Services Industry, posting revenues of $759 billion, the mainspring US Physician Services Industry, posting revenues of $506 billion, and the perennially successful US Dental Services Industry, posting annual revenues of $102 billion.

The fact that American dentistry has not been included in the "reform" debate is telling: it demonstrates a astonishing mis-diagnosis of what is the real, fundamental phenomena that have been driving the chronic, 40-year failure of American healthcare.

The US Dental Services Industry has preceded the evolution of the two other keystone industries by a few years. The recent second "killer" crash in the dental industry was truly astonishing. It was equivalent in its implosive force to forty-three 1929 stock market crashes.

This once robust industry, virtually doubling is size for three decades and growing about 35 times faster than the population, suffered what was arguably was the worst crash in its growth rate in American economic history.

Based on the latest data American dentistry plunged below its historic catastrophic threshold and started to contract–a negative rate of growth. The graphic representation of this astonishing event is stunning and makes even the most hard-boiled skeptic a true believer.

The nascent collapse of these industries, they are "teetering," will send Tsunami-like shockwaves throughout out the entire US economy and cause millions of supplier and provider organizations to fail. It's tragic, yet a classic evolutionary phenomena that have been grossly mismanaged for four decades.

Even worse, because this predicament has been ignored and because public attention has been diverted away from the real predicament, the American people will be forced into harm's way. The most vulnerable people are the children, the elderly, and the "very sick" who are the 10% of the American people who consume about 70% of all services.

Surprisingly, the US Healthcare Industry will suddenly collapse because of the exact same (mathematically homologous) phenomena that caused the recent failure of the US Housing Industry which caused the world-wide financial debacle reported to be the worst since the Great Depression.

The spectacular events of 2009 profoundly, incontrovertibly, unarguably invalidate all of the purported "reform" measures regardless of the political sponsorship, regardless of their philosophical underpinnings, and regardless of their ethical and democratic imperatives. It hardly makes sense to be bringing into a failing system, that's now ready to collapse at any moment, more people.

Francis A. Toto

Director, The Right Moves Project, established in 1982, and that is today the definitive authority in the healthcare crisis for 28 reasons.

Congress and the White House should stop wasting the people’s money, “cut as detailed herein” and use savings to improve quality of basic invested entitlements. Preserve the 2010 tax schedule with no inheritance taxes. Congress should improve basic Medicare. Vote opponents to this “out”. Citizens come first.

It is time the U.S. reduces human rites and police activities for the World by lobbying the United Nations, NATO and Interpol to “take on more”. 800 bases in 63 countries across the world should be reduced. Examples are fewer forces in, Bosnia, Germany, Philippines and Okinawa.

Starting with Iraq, only train for self reliance. After the surge in Afghanistan repeat above and diminish corruption by requiring accounting practices for aid, substituting minerals mining and food crops for drugs.

Charge bailed companies (TARP) for their huge executive bonuses at taxpayer expense. Government should sell shares to recoup for taxpayer. About $154 billion owed.

Congress should reduce “stimulus” expenditures by halting: over budget and vote bribery “earmarks”. Example: Stop “cow burp” study. $13 billion unspent in states. Eliminate subsidies that smell “earmark”. Congress should cut their pay and do not pay student loans for their staff. Please- no renting of private or military aircraft. An example was Pelosi’s family of $2.1 million for over 2 years. Congress should set commercial travel cost standards and controls.

Rescinding Obamacare actually (Americare-because most Americans care about one another) is nothing more than putting the thoughts and minds of our public back into the "Dark Ages". Even back in biblical time, "King David so hated the lame that he smited them before the gates of city", or something to that nature. In other wards the King James version of the Bible not only suggested it recommended killing those who where lame or disabled. Again that was the "Dark Ages" and not representative of those who have accumulated knowledge over time. I was born disabled, train Top Gun Pilots for deployment to Iraq during Desert Storm, it was a private government contract, fell from a radar towere and collapsed my spinal chord. Spent two year re-habbing and learning to walk only to get run over by a school bus; 75 year-old gentleman passed out behind the wheel. While paralyzed the first time I designed, engineered and patented my own invention Patent #5,521,802. The point is my spine is destroyed and my medical bills are over $25,000 a year which is ludicrous. I want to work, not only in the filed of engineering for a company but also on no ideas for solar technology which can change efficiency by 15-25%. So do you leave great minds live Steven Hawkins (co-contributor to the Pink Floyd Puls album I invented) in our rooms to die or do we get to finally come out into the light. You can always do what the Bible recomends and smite us also at least that would be more humane than using us for cattle to build your Healthcare Corporations Wealth. I have iven all I had to this Country and asking not to die and to be able to continue to contribute is not to much. Post this if you are not one sided and actually beleive in the hate you push.

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